Jordan was the combination of Vince Carter’s inherent athleticism mixed in with Kobe Bryant’s work ethic and determination on the court.

As you can plainly see, Brandon Roy’s name is nowhere close to being in that paragraph. And, quite frankly, it’ll never deserve to be there, with defense and intensity being the main reasons.

But I disagree that nothing about Batum suggests he could possibly approach that level in due time. Was it not impressive for a 19-year-old kid—living in a foreign country and dealing with a language barrier—to step into a starting role on a playoff-level NBA team and hold his own? This youngster was generally assigned the top scorer on the opposing team—guys like LeBron, Carmelo, & Kobe. To me, it was absolutely remarkable that he didn’t get eaten up & spat out.

As I said above, if you project that kid forward a couple years, it’s easy (at least for me) to imagine him approaching Pippen’s level. We think of Pippen as a key member of an NBA dynasty and a top-50 all-time player. But just as Jordan benefitted from playing with Pippen, so did Pippen benefit from playing with Jordan.

We saw that all too clearly the season Jordan played baseball instead of hoops. Pippen wanted to be the go-to-guy on that squad, and he threw a tantrum when his coach didn’t see it that way. But the bottom line was this: Pippen was a role player. A great one—one who deserves much credit for those Bulls championships. But put Pippen on a mediocre team and do you really imagine he’d have been voted a top 50 player? There’s no way. He didn’t have that kind of scoring ability, and scorers are the only players who are recognized despite playing on bad teams.

I say this not to knock Pippen but to provide a little perspective. Yes, Pippen was great. But he was no Jordan—not by a long, long shot. “Batman & Robin” indeed. Nic Batum is all potential at this point, and many things can prevent potential from being realized: injury, bad decisions, etc. But I think that rejecting the idea out of hand that Batum could one day approach Scotty Pippen’s level is illogical.

That point aside: the thrust of my post was that Batum and Roy may possess the kind of three/ two chemistry that helped make Pippen & Jordan so successful. That’s NOT to say that I think Roy will even approach Jordan’s level. My intent was to suggest that, perhaps, Batum’s unusual length, nose for the ball, & defensive ability & focus will complement Roy’s offensive ability in a similar manner to how Pippen’s skills complemented Jordan’s.

What had made me begin to consider this possibility was watching the Blazers’ early-season struggles sans Batum—in particular the spectacle of Trevor Ariza lighting up the Blazers for 30 points, leading to a Blazer loss despite Roy’s putting up 42. That reminded me of Jordan’s pre-Pippen days, when he scored tons of points but didn’t win a thing.

I didn’t say that Roy/ Batum would be as good as Jordan/ Pippen. Importantly, they won’t HAVE to be to win a championship or two, if their teammates develop as it appears they might. The Bulls had great players in Jordan & Pippen and an above average 4 in Horace Grant, but beyond that their talent level was pretty run of the mill in my opinion. The Blazers of the next few seasons will likely have more weapons accompanying their 2, 3, & 4 (Greg Oden in particular), providing that no major chemistry or injury issues emerge.

Going back to my “Batman & Robin revisited?” phrase: the point was that Roy & Batum may possess the beginnings of a similar 2 & 3 CHEMISTRY to that possessed by Jordan & Pippen. Call them—potentially—“a poor man’s Jordan & Pippen.” Fine. The point is that the way the two players’ talents mesh is reminiscent of how Jordan & Pippen’s abilities complemented each other. Surrounded by a—potentially—much stronger supporting cast—that might well be enough to bring some glory to the Rose City.